ELMIRA — After two weeks of starting on the outside, Espirit Seelster drew Post 2 for her Trillium Series division at Elmira Raceway on Friday night and the three-year-old pacing filly took full advantage of the inside position, scoring a 1:56.3 victory.
In rein to Mike Sumner, the Grassroots regular shadowed pacesetter Fan For Life through fractions of :27.4, :58 and 1:27.4 before shifting into high gear in the stretch. Not only was Espirit Seelster’s 1:56.3 clocking the fastest of the four Trillium divisions, she also posted the sharpest last quarter of the 27 Trillium contestants, a :28.3 sprint around the final turn.
Owned by McCarthy Family Farms of Granton and trained by Ray Bunn, Espirit Seelster was lightly campaigned at two, recording a pair of wins in six starts. This year the Camluck lass was the runner-up in her Grassroots division at Dresden Raceway on May 19 after drawing Post 7, and finished second in a May 30 race at Elmira from Post 6. The win bumps the filly’s lifetime earnings to $22,002.
Fan For Life settled for second-place in the $17,058 battle, half a length behind Espirit Seelster, while fan favourite Feathery Fame was two lengths back in third.
In the second fastest mile of the evening Future Champion stopped the clock at 1:57.4 after employing the same strategy as Espirit Seelster. The U.S.-bred Falcons Future daughter stalked pacesetters Rhiannon O Rhye and Trust Me Ashley during the early stages and then blew by them through the stretch, going on to a two length victory.
Trust Me Ashley barely held off a charging Missys Fame to earn the second-place finisher’s share, while Rhiannon O Rhye faded to fourth.
Michael Langdon drove Future Champion to the victory for trainer Duane Marfisi of Guelph and owner Donald Lowes of Paris. The win was the talented filly’s third straight this season.
American-bred filly Penny Artcade kicked off the quartet of Trillium events with a 1:58 triumph in the second race. Dave Boughton, who drove Lucky Irma to a Gold Final victory at Elmira last week, piloted the Artiscape daughter to the two and a half length victory for trainer Pat Hunt of Cambridge and owners Thomas and Elizabeth Rankin of St. Catharines.
Sent off as the top choice by Elmira fans, Boughton and Penny Artcade took control of the race just after the opening quarter and never looked back, besting Wendys Rocket, Streetwise Hanover and Kera Silk, who were so close together at the wire a magnifying glass was required to separate them into second, third and fourth-place.
Longshot Clarkbro Angel evened the competition between the American and Ontario-breds with a come-from-behind victory in the other Trillium division. The Run The Table lass and driver Duane Avery moved from seventh at the top of the stretch to capture the one and a half length victory over Shes So Lucky and favourite Hot Shot Rocket, stopping the teletimer in 1:58.
The win was Clarkbro Angel’s first, giving owner-breeders Jim and John Clark of Puslinch something to cheer about for the first time in nine career starts. Dale Avery trains the unpredictable filly, who refused to start at Woodbine Racetrack on May 22 after kicking off her 2003 season with an impressive third-place finish at Mohawk Racetrack on May 15.
The fillies make their second Trillium Series appearance at Hanover Raceway on July 5, but the Ontario-bred fillies will see Grassroots action at Hiawatha Horse Park on June 19 and Gold Series action at Woodbine on June 29.
The Ontario Sires Stakes returns to Elmira Raceway on Monday, June 30 with the electric three-year-old pacing colts in their second Grassroots battle.